Remarks by S for S at media session
Following are the remarks by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, at a media session after attending a radio programme this morning (January 25):
Reporter: Could you please recap in English the rescue work that you have mentioned on the radio, that the 29 (year-old) teenager has been rescued, and when will he be back in Hong Kong? Secondly, can you also recap in English, the rapid test kit for the space oil? You mentioned there are two scenarios when checking, that the police officers may have to be attentive of. Can you say in English how do they have to be aware of during checking?
Secretary for Security: First of all, regarding the 29 years old Hong Kong victim, who was earlier being lured to a Southeast Asian country to work illegally, and had been rescued to Thailand. Actually, he had been moved to Bangkok yesterday, and our task force member was able to see him and talk with him. With the assistance from Thai authorities and the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, and also with the help of the Thai Consulate in Hong Kong, we are able to arrange him to be back to Hong Kong on coming Monday. We are delighted that he can see his family members before the Chinese New Year and have a family reunion.
Regarding the rapid test kits on space oil drug, since the promulgation last Saturday, we have two positive cases. In the course of doing the test, our officers are being trained to handle different situations. If someone is really innocent, our officers have to tactfully handle how to make a request. We understand that, if someone is really in possession of space oil drug, and they have certain reactions, our officers are being trained to handle different scenarios. Thank you.
Reporter: Will the Government also work with the Myanmar and Cambodian governments? And what kind of challenges are there?
Secretary for Security: In fact, I have been seeing the Myanmar Consulate and also the Cambodian Consulate in Hong Kong to discuss on how to have the safe return of our Hong Kong people. All of us, including the two Consulates-General that I mentioned, and also the Thai authorities, are all committed to paying our utmost efforts to have the safe return of our Hong Kong residents.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks)
Results of monthly survey on business situation of small and medium-sized enterprises for January 2025
The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (February 11) the results of the Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) for January 2025.
The current diffusion index (DI) on business receipts amongst SMEs decreased from 43.9 in December 2024 in the contractionary zone to 43.1 in January 2025, whereas the one-month's ahead (i.e. February 2025) outlook DI on business receipts was 43.8. Analysed by sector, the current DIs on business receipts for many surveyed sectors dropped in January 2025 as compared with previous month, particularly for the logistics (from 42.4 to 38.5) and business services (from 48.4 to 45.6).
The current DI on new orders for the import and export trades decreased from 46.5 in December 2024 to 46.1 in January 2025, whereas the outlook DI on new orders in one month's time (i.e. February 2025) was 46.9.
Commentary
A Government spokesman said that overall business sentiment among SMEs and their expectations on the business situation in one month's time eased back alongside increased uncertainties in the external environment in January. Yet, the overall employment situation remained stable.
The spokesman added that uncertainties in the global economy would continue to pose challenges to the business environment. Nevertheless, the Central Government's various measures to boost the Mainland economy and benefit Hong Kong, as well as the Special Administrative Region Government's initiatives to lift market sentiment and promote economic development should provide support to business sentiment. The Government will monitor the situation closely.
Further information
The Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises aims to provide a quick reference, with minimum time lag, for assessing the short-term business situation faced by SMEs. SMEs covered in this survey refer to establishments with fewer than 50 persons engaged. Respondents were asked to exclude seasonal fluctuations in reporting their views. Based on the views collected from the survey, a set of diffusion indices (including current and outlook diffusion indices) is compiled. A reading above 50 indicates that the business condition is generally favourable, whereas that below 50 indicates otherwise. As for statistics on the business prospects of prominent establishments in Hong Kong, users may refer to the publication entitled "Report on Quarterly Business Tendency Survey" released by the C&SD.
The results of the survey should be interpreted with care. The survey solicits feedback from a panel sample of about 600 SMEs each month and the survey findings are thus subject to sample size constraint. Views collected from the survey refer only to those of respondents on their own establishments rather than those on the respective sectors they are engaged in. Besides, in this type of opinion survey on expected business situation, the views collected in the survey are affected by the events in the community occurring around the time of enumeration, and it is difficult to establish precisely the extent to which respondents' perception of the business situation accords with the underlying trends. For this survey, main bulk of the data were collected around the last week of the reference month.
More detailed statistics are given in the "Report on Monthly Survey on the Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises". Users can browse and download the publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1080015&scode=300).
Users who have enquiries about the survey results may contact Industrial Production Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7246; email: sme-survey@censtatd.gov.hk).
